Speaking powerfully and directly to a growing audience, African-American vernacular art is making its mark in the art world. In this outstanding collection of contemporary art, works by 27 self-taught artists bear eloquent testimony to the social, cultural, and spiritual experiences of Southern African Americans. Thornton Dial Sr., Ronald Lockett, Bessie Harvey, Mose Tolliver, and Purvis Young head a roster of leading artists in this genre. Five scholars explore the significance of these emotionally charged, culturally complex artworks and their context in the larger art world; brief biographies and the artists' own statements are included. Testimony accompanies a traveling exhibition organized by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and Exhibitions International.

About the authors

Kinshasha H. Conwill is director emeritus of the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. Arthur C. Danto is professor emeritus of philosophy at Columbia University and art critic for The Nation. Edmund Barry Gaither is director of the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists in Boston. Grey Gundaker is associate professor of American studies and anthropology at the College of William and Mary. Judith McWillie is a painter, author, curator, and professor at the University of Georgia in Athens.